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A CENTURY HOME ON CHARLES - SOLD

$285 000

35 CHARLES ST - SOLD!

Here’s the thing (and you should know this up front): You buy this house and you’re going to end up with a realtor for a neighbour, because I live three doors down. And that may put off a good number of you. I understand that. I don’t think I’d want to live next door to one of us either. But for the diminished number that are still listening, let me tell you a bit about 35 Charles.

This semi-detached 1452 s.f. three-bedroom home - just down the street from wonderful Elm Cafe and a short walk to the river (your kayak on your head, maybe), also the downtown core, McBurney Park, Central Public - dates back to 1870. It’s one of the earliest homes to be built in Charlesville. Not that you’d guess that from the unassuming (and pretty much maintenance-free) exterior, or from the big modern window at the front, the just-pressed metal roof.

But inside the four walls is a home fit to burst with character. I like it very much indeed. I would try to buy it myself, seriously, if that wouldn’t deprive you lot of the opportunity. And here’s some of why.

The pine floors have that polished golden glow that only comes from centuries of sliding, socked traffic. The wear patterns thrill me too; it’s as if I can see in the gleaming planking a hundred years’ worth of daily routines. The hungry marches to the kitchen. The ritual shrugging off of boots at the door.

The main floor ceilings are a mile off, maybe two, and you don’t see that every day. And there’s some exposed brick in the dining room too. A curved section of plaster wall in the hall is like the narrowing end of sailboat.

The sweet little light-filled kitchen is down a step at the back and you can eat in there, or carry your ploughman’s out through the sliding doors to the treed back yard and stone patio. You might not feel like you’re living in Provence, exactly, or the middle of The Cotswolds, but it sure is a dreamy, dappled shade you’ll sit in, breaking bread, sipping wine.

Three bedrooms up, of course, as well as a spacious, separate laundry spot in with the clawfoot tub and shower. The toilet is separate, part of its own two-piece, which is quaint and speaks again to the history of the house, but also strikes me as useful on those busy mornings, kids in all directions.

I hope I’m painting a decent picture for you. It’s a good house, that’s the bottom line. And the tenants are fantastic. You want this as part of an investment portfolio and they’d be thrilled to stay. So there’s that too.